Knee pad



Dec. 16, 1947. R, Q FERGUSON 2,432,565

KNEE PAD Filed Sept. 30. 1944 *a y n l u .12.2 J4' Z1 1.3 l? zz `I l@l1@ g;

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l www Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED PATENT QFFICE;

,Claims- This inventionl relates broadly to supports; and moreparticularly. to a` device.I for 'supportfir-igV aV workman on thefloor, ground' or thelike-vin a kneeling position.

There are many classes of. workmenwho must spend considerable time ina.kneeling` position, because of the nature ofthe. work tobe performed.rlhere have.v beeny many devices icon-V ceivedinl the pastwhich willenable-a workman tobe more comfortable while-inY akneeling.r posi tion,suchV devices including.A knee pads, padded movable supports,smallwhleeled carriages and the like, Oneoi the main drawbacks-aboutsuchprior devices has been the fact that while the knees of the workman=maybe supported, there are no supports which will enable the workman to beon his knees for extendedA periods of time and relieve the pressure onhisv feet. Also, many of the devices, such as wheeledfcarriages. andVthe like, are bulky and hard to handle and must be picked up by theworkman as he moves from place toplace.

The-main objectof this Ainvention is to .provide asupport forworkmenwhich will support the workman ina kneeling. position`comfortable over long perio ds of time.

Another object of the, inventionis to` provide a support;whichwillrelievethe pressureomthe Workman@ feetwhen the workman is in aikneeling:position..

Still another objectof theinvention is-toprovide` a devicecapable ofperforming the abovernentioned objects which isportable and may bestrapped to the workmans legs in such a manner that, when the workman ison his feet, thedeviceiw-illnot interfere with his'f-ree movement.

Numerous other objects of the invention will be obvious from aninspection of the drawings and the following description thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention showing thesame in position on a workmans leg.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a modification of the invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the supportingbracket shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the pivotal connection for thebraclr` et as well as the specic means of locking the bracket in one oftwo positions.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figure 1 thereof, referencenumeral Il) generally indicates a shank which is concave on its innerside so as to generally fit over the shin of the wearers leg, and is ofsuicient length so as to extend froma point adjacent thehwearers-ankleup-` wardly to cover the entire front portion o f thewearers leg. The shank IG is preferablyformed of metal, and may be cast,stamped cr the. like,

.l although it willA be obviouspithat` thesame may be formed of Vothersuitable material such asfwood or plastic.` il extending rearwardly andpreferably being formedintegral'with thelshank. The` tabs li areprovided withA slots l2: through which leg straps I3.T aref secured, thelegfstraps ls being provided with a suitable; strap adjusting buckle`ld.' The.\upper portion-.ofshank H) is provided with' an annulardepression |5150 positioned on the shank as to overliethe wearers knee`This annular. depression` is. preferablyA formed integrallywiththershank, although it will be obvious thatthesame.couldbeformed separately and suitably. secured to the-shank. As showninFigM ure 1 lugs. i6. extend outwardly from the lower portion oftheshankand each lug has a suitable aperture .therein through. whichscrew-threaded boltsVliextend.y The bolts l1 are provided'withanenlargedhead I8 andailock washer lSis po sitioned on the bolts l'l,the lock washer ISB; being.- provided .with aplurality of `radialgrooves. 28. A1 wing'nut'Zl isrscrew-threaded on the. bolt l'i. A.substantially Ushaped. `bracket 25 has a washer lformed'integrally withthe inner ends thereof,thef.washer-2being provided with radialribs.2.'l`.

When the. device is applied toaworkmansv leg, andztheworkman isin anVupright` position, asshown in Figure. l, the bracket 25- will be` placedinltheposition shownin `dotted lines, thus enabling the; workman to`move about without any interference from the support. When the workmanassumes a kneeling position, the wing nuts l1 are loosened to permit thewashers I9 and 2B to be separated, thus permitting the bracket 25 topivot from its dotted line position shown in Figure 1 to the full lineposition. As shown in Figure 3, the wing nut 2l may then be tightenedand the bracket 25 will remain in its extended position through the lockwashers I9 and 25, as will be readily apparent to one skilled in theart.

In each of the forms illustrated, the lower bracket 25 maintains thelower portion of the workmans leg in an elevated position, thuspermitting the workmans foot to hang downwardly in a natural positionand relieve pressure therefrom. It is this latter feature whichcomprises the most important function of the present invention, i. e.,when a Workman is on his knees,

The shank'A lil is provided t with tabs 3 the lower portion of his legsare in a slightly elevated position and are maintained in such positionthrough the medium of the lower bracket 25 so that all pressure, orsubstantially all pressure, is relieved from the workmans feet.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 1, the knee issupported in the annular depression l5. It will be obvious, of course,that the annular depression l5 and/or the shank l0 may be suitablypadded. In the modification shown in Figure 2 the knee of the Workmanextends slightly beyond the forward portion of the shank and the flaredportion 30 enables the knee to be suitably flexed.

It will be understood, also, that the bracket 25, which is shown in thedrawings as extending transverse to the shank, could be replaced byhaving two brackets of similar form extending lengthwise and on eitherside of the shank so as to form runners. Such brackets would havepivotal connections, as that illustrated for brackets 25.

I claim:

1. A device 'of the character described for sup porting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to the front'portion of the leg, and means securedto said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion of saidshank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so that thefoot of the wearer may hang downwardly from the leg in a naturalposition, said last mentioned means being pivotally secured to saidshank so that the same may be folded upon said shank when not in use.

2. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to the front portion of the leg, and a pivotedbracket secured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rearportion of said shank for maintaining the lower portion of the legelevated so that the foot of the wearerY may hang downwardly from theleg in a natural position.

3. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to the front portion of the leg, a, pivoted bracketsecured to said shank and extending downwardly from the rear portion ofsaid shank for maintaining the lower portion of the leg elevated so thatthe foot of the wearer may hang downwardly from the leg in a naturalposition, said bracket being adapted to be folded upon said shank whennot in use, and means for 4 maintaining said bracket in its folded andextended position.

4. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising an elongated shank adapted to fitover the shin of the wearers leg, means for detachably securing saidshank to the leg, a cupshaped member formed integrally with said shankand extending forwardly thereof adapted to receive the knee of thewearer, and a pivoted bracket secured to said shank and extendingdownwardly from the rear portion of said shank for maintaining the lowerportion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hangdownwardly from the leg in a natural position, said bracket beingadapted to be folded upon said shank when not in use.

5. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising an elongated shank adapted to tover the shin of the wearers leg, means for detachably securing saidshank to the leg, a cupshaped member formed integrally with said shankand extending forwardly thereof adapted to receive the knee of thewearer, a pivoted bracket secured to said shank and extending downwardlyfrom the rear portion of the shank for maintaining the lower portion ofthe leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hang downwardly fromthe leg in a natural position, said bracket being adapted to be foldedupon said shank when not in use, and means for maintaining said bracketin its folded and extended positions.

ROBERT O. FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name A Date 1,434,808 Burnett et al. Nov.7, 1922 1,547,166 Davidson July 28, 1925 1,087,863 Andrews Feb. 17, 19141,117,168 Crowley Nov. 17, 1914 1,293,240 Summers Feb. 4, 1919 1,624,129Barrett Apr. 12, 1927 1,090,408 Peoples Mar. 17, 1914 1,296,522 HolseyMar. 4, 1919 1,348,204 Brewster Aug. 3, 1920 1,382,883 Ashbridge June28, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 454,748 France May 5, 1913

